Sustainable by Design: Foundations for a Just and Green Digital Infrastructure

A Position Paper Contributing to CODES Shift 2 on Sustainable Digital Infrastructure

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Digitalization is often portrayed as a game-changer for sustainable development. It is expected to help mitigate climate change, detect diseases earlier or use resources more efficiently. Digitalization is thus also considered a key technology for a more sustainable economy. However, for this promise to be fulfilled “on net,” it is not enough to rely solely on the positive applications of the technology. The environmental and social side effects of the digital transformation must also be considered and mitigated.

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This new CODES position paper, which contributes to CODES Shift 2 on the topic of “Sustainable Digital Infrastructure,” brings together and summarizes the extensive work that CODES partners and other stakeholders have already carried out on this topic.

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The paper provides an overview of the current state of the field and organizes it according to the key environmental and structural-social challenges that digital infrastructure currently faces.

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At the environmental level, the paper examines the footprint of infrastructure expansion in terms of energy and emissions, raw material extraction, water consumption, and electronic waste. At the structural and social level, it examines the widening digital divide, the concentration of market power, the infrastructures vulnerability to climate change, and the persistent lack of reliable data on the sector’s actual footprint.

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Based on this analysis, the paper outlines specific strategies for reducing the environmental and social impacts of digital infrastructure.

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